GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israel Defense Forces claims that Hamas has been investing most of its resources in digging tunnels under the Gaza Strip, particularly in the north. A maze of interconnected tunnels akin to a metro network was built underground across the coastal enclave, and the Israeli forces are intent on demolishing it.

At the beginning of 2021, Basil Salhieh, the former head of Hamas’ military wing the Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, warned in video messages that Israel has a map of Gaza’s tunnels and was preparing to demolish them in the next conflict. Salhieh said that he had spoken to Hamas’ leadership about this issue, and was determined to spread his message. But his warnings were brushed aside and Al-Qassam Brigades arrested him for posting the videos.

As of the time of this writing, 197 people have been killed in the Israeli shelling, including 58 children and 34 women, since the violence broke out on May 10, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip.

Ibrahim al-Madhoun, a political analyst close to Hamas, told Al-Monitor that the intensity of Israel’s attacks on the tunnels betray its fear that Hamas will use them to carry out surprise attacks. He explained that in the 2014 war with Israel, the tunnels are Hamas' most effective strategic asset but not its only one.